ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 55 



Fungi. 

 (By A. Lohrain Smith, P.L.S.) 



New or Peculiar Zygomycetes.*— R. Thaxter has added three new 

 genera of moulds to the fungus flora, all of them well-marked and well- 

 tested. The first, named Blakeslea in honour of Professor Blakeslee, 

 appeared in a culture of Botrytis Rile///. The larvae attacked by the 

 Botrytis were found on cow-peas at Gainesville, Florida, and the spores 

 of the mould may have been lodged on the flowers of the plants and 

 have become transferred to the body of the insect. The mycelium is 

 colourless to bright orange ; the sporangia are variable in size, they 

 are spherical, nodding, or circinate, and solitary at the tips of the 

 sporangiferous hyphaa. There are, in addition, fertile hyphae that bear 

 twelve or more sporangiola, or each hypha branches at the tip and 

 forms swollen heads, which become studded with sporangiola, all typically 

 three-spored, rarely more. Chlamydospores are also produced. 



Thaxter considers that Blakeslea is closely allied to Choanephora, 

 and he compares several species of that genus with the new fungus. 



The second new mould, Dissophora decumbens, was found on dung of 

 the wood-mouse, in the vicinity of Cambridge, Mass. It is closely allied 

 to Mortieretta, but is distinguished by the peculiarities of the fertile 

 hyphae. These arise as branches continually given off from a constantly 

 advancing main filament. It is at first erect, but soon becomes de- 

 cumbent. The sporangia are similar to those of Mortieretta. 



Haplosporanginm bisporale, the third new genus and species, is also 

 allied to Mortieretta in the character of the sporangia. There is a felted 

 layer of mycelium, on segmented portions of which sporangiophores are 

 radially produced. They are short branchlets, and taper to a point before 

 bearing the sporangia. The latter are monosporous or bisporous. In 

 habit the fungus resembles a Gephalosporium, and does not appear to be 

 rare. A second species of the genus, Eapl (/sporangium decvpims, was 

 distinguished by the sporangia being nodding and having the walls 

 roughened by minute folds. There is no record of zygospores having 

 been formed in the cultures. 



Studies of LaboulbeniaceaB.f — Clodomiro 0. Tonghini finishes his 

 account of this group of Fungi. He describes the various attempts 

 to make satisfactory microscopic preparations, the best results being 

 attained by embedding in hard paraffin and by paying particular atten- 

 tion to the plane at which the sections were cut. He was thus able to 

 study minutely the different organs — the foot and rhizoidal structures, 

 the perithecium and the appendices, all of which he describes generally. 

 more particular descriptions being reserved for the different diagnoses 

 of genera and species. 



* Bot. Gaz., lviii. (1914) pp. 353-66 (4 pis.). 

 t Malpighia, xxvi. (1913) pp. 477-518 (1 pi.). 



